Radioactive waste processing system

A processing system for handling radioactive waste after a part or all of a waste slurry, which is comprised of an aqueous slurry of used ion exchange resin generated from nuclear facilities and which is stored in storage tanks, is withdrawn to an adjusting tank and after radioactive concentration of respective nuclides in the waste slurry is measured, which comprises at least one of the following steps:

• 1) returning the waste slurry to the storage tank without introducing the slurry into a solidifying processing system when the waste slurry is determined to be improper for processing directly, based on the measured radioactive concentration;
• 2) subjecting the waste slurry to an incineration process when the waste slurry is determined, based on the measured radioactive concentration, to be proper for processing by incineration, and subsequently solidifying residual material remaining from the incineration process by a solidifying process;
• 3) treating the waste slurry by a thermal decomposition process for removing functional groups and radioactive nuclides when the waste slurry is determined, based on the measured radioactive concentration, to be proper for further processing, and subsequently solidifying residual material obtained from the thermal decomposition process by a solidifying process;
• 4) subjecting the waste slurry to a dissolution process by removing radioactive nuclides when the waste slurry is determined to be proper for processing to reduce its radioactivity, based on the measured radioactive concentration, and subsequently solidifying the processed waste slurry by a solidifying process;
• 5) introducing the waste slurry into a solidifying process wherein the waste slurry is solidified with inorganic solidifying materials or organic solidifying materials when the waste slurry is determined to be proper for processing directly, based on the measured radioactive concentration;
• 6) incinerating the waste slurry when the waste slurry is determined, based on the measured radioactive concentration, to be proper for processing directly, and introducing the gaseous waste generated from the incineration of the waste slurry into a gaseous waste treatment process;
• or
• 7) diluting the waste slurry with other waste having low radioactivity when the waste slurry is determined, based on the measured radioactive concentration, to be proper for processing after reducing its level of radioactivity by dilution, so that the radioactivity of a solidified waste body obtained by a subsequent solidifying process exhibits a value within a predetermined limit which is defined as an allowable value for handling of such radioactive waste.